MEGALITH
Megalith
Sometimes its good to leave things open to interpretation and let the imagination do its work. With the onset of AI telling people what to do and think and make people even more lazy (as all technology tends to do) often it’s just nice to make photographs without any agenda other than your own..
A moist and salty stink.
There is a simple joy in doing a pre-dawn raid. Not sure why I thought the Salton Sea would be cooler than the desert, but its moist salty stink was not half bad.
If you are not thinking ‘how’ to get the image, then you are not thinking ‘about’ the image.
The craft of photography has vanished like a fart in the wind! Off the top of my head; Focus, Image stabilization, color correction, vertical and horizontal correction, exposure, saturation, contrast, and even focal length, were once controlled by the photographer. Now they are done automatically with the camera, or in post using software.
Those still shooting the old school way are either doing it because that’s what they have always done, or they are young and hip and think they have rediscovered the wheel.
I have always thought that looking back is the only way you see what good photography really is. Early photographers had to do everything technically, as well as having vision. You would think that today having everything done ‘automatically’ would allow photographers to be more creative, allowing them to ‘just think about the subject’. Personally I think its done the opposite. If you are not thinking ‘how’ to get the image, then you are not thinking ‘about’ the image.
Hot, steady, and ever ready.
Palm Desert, am, 2026
Changing my shooting times form evening to morning this past month, mainly due to the heat, often changes the way I think, and approach a subject. In the AM it always feels like a race before the sun comes up, but with that comes a sense of closure, and the thoughts of breakfast. In the PM there is always the idea of shooting into the night where you either get too tired and can’t think straight, and then fall off a rock, or, your battery runs out, or, very often all three which happened several times during my Convergence work. I should also add, that shooting in the evening means things, and excuses, can happen in the day and you end up not shooting at all. Either way both have their drawbacks, but whether it’s watching the sun come up, or going down, there is still that magic moment when everything comes together.
Untitled, 2026
Its not often I shoot in the middle of the day. The last time was probably photographing derelict interiors in the Salton Sea some 20 years ago. Back then, the reason was to stay out of the sun until the light was right, even though the air temperatures inside where higher, but it meant I didn’t get heat stroke. As it was so bright outside, I was able to make photographs in the dark interiors on an 8/10” using what light was available. Last week I discovered an entire housing complex built in 2007 and abandoned in 2008 due to the financial crash. The real interest lies in the interiors of these once beautiful potential homes frozen in a state of new-abandoned-melancholy, decaying, but still new. And so, thinking back to ‘Thursdays by The Sea’, I began photographing the interiors in the middle of the day. Due to the long exposures, its a slow difficult process and very uncomfortable in the extreme heat, so much so, my camera kept overheating. But then again, I wouldn’t want things to be too easy..
The next 20..
Cazabon, 2026
The Accidental Tourist series was never intended to be a major project. What started as, ‘the random images you make that don’t really fit in anywhere’, over time became a series and started to fill a narrative. Having spent months putting together a book edit after 20 years, although happy with the finished article, there were so many more images I decided to do another loose edit which can be added to here and there. And so The Accidental Tourist II, The Permanent Resident, was born and will hopefully continue long into the future..
The terrible boredom of paradise..
Somewhere in the Sonoran Desert, July 2026.
Once upon a time in Death Valley, no one but an idiot ventured there in the months of June through August. I was one of those idiots. It was something I will not forget, or wish to experience again despite it’s beauty. But people are stupid and now July is the busiest month for tourism and dead bodies. Living out in the desert this time of year is a reminder of that trip I made to Badwater Death Valley, in the middle of July when my skin began to melt and my boots caught fire.
The desert is perhaps my favorite landscape, but the only time I venture out now at night, or just before sunrise. Its a magical experience but often followed by the rest of the day spent indoors, at least until winter..
Oh to have fresh eyes..
El Mirage. 2026
Its been 18 months since I moved out to the desert. With its ease of access to many places I would choose to go, I cannot complain. What was once a day trip, or stopover, is now a 30 minute drive, but therein lies the problem. When I used to drive to the Salton Sea in the late 90’s, it took so long to get there that I could leave after lunch and not have long to wait for the magical light to appear. On a cross country road trip, you drive through the day and then arrive somewhere just in time for the same magical light to appear, and so on. But now, waiting all day, its not difficult to get distracted with something else, or have a cocktail and not go anywhere despite many locations only being 30 minutes away, including the Salton Sea.
In the small town I grew up in there is a castle. Its quite a big castle with dungeons, a gift shop, and cafe. People come from far and wide to see the castle, but I have never been. Its a little bit like that now when I know there are many great places to make photographs, but because they are close by, I haven’t been. Its such a weird thing, but like having instant access to anyone on the planet, doesn’t mean you want to call them.
So much for looking at places with fresh eyes…
Always there..
Between Pines- Palm Springs 2026
Whatever I go off and start a new project, eventually I come back to where it all began, The Urban Sprawl. Still shot in the same way and at the same time of day. Its something that will always be there and continue to grow.
Make-believe but still real.
Halo 8
As the latest show of work, Convergence, draws to a close it has been a time of reflection. As with the Penumbra work, the show brought about the question; How did you do that? This really wasn’t surprising, especially when you consider I always get asked the question, even with my ‘straight photography’. In an ideal world I would have left everything a mystery, but the problem there was that most would assume everything was done in post rather than in camera. And then I got thinking about something I had never related to before. Unlike a straight landscape, which could also be sketched or painted, these images could only have been done using photography. The idea being that the shutter is opened, I walk into the shot, and then wave a light around (simple explanation). Of course the artist can always add something, or take it away, but they cannot physically alter reality. (The same could be said for photography post-production of crappy AI.)
And so with this in mind, I feel good to have produced something, Make-believe, but still real..
This is what a polished turd looks like..
Not sure how many more times I can write how much the Salton Sea has changed, but as I place I spent years photographing as early as the late 90’s, its about all I can do.
The vintage cars have gone, and only a few abandoned, dilapidated buildings exist. Early on there was a story, and like all good photographs, the place asked questions; What happened here? why is it like this?
Now, its just there, with an abundance of ‘enraged sculptures’ and the threat of Lithium pollution. It’s looks abandoned, and yet people live there now. Basically the place is a parody of itself. A none-place that no longer needs discovering.
Monumental.
Monument Diner, 2000
I spent much of this past week searching through my photography archive, and by that I mean negatives and contact sheets, some dating back 25 years. It’s been some time since I looked at much of my old work, but it reminded me of when I would make images without reason other than the pure joy of making pictures, it was wonderful..
Sometimes you have to look back in order to move forward. Remembering why I used to make photographs will always be inspiring.
A Hot Show
Arc. Convergence 2026
CONVERGENCE
RUBINE RED GALLERY
The best thing (for me) about having a show is that the work is presented in the way it was intended. Lugging around large cameras and jumping off rocks at night deserves to be shown as large prints with beautiful framing in a fine gallery in a beautiful location. On this occasion, the fact that it was 105 outside, and lovely and cool inside, was a little ironic as all of the images were made in the desert.
I always enjoy seeing how people react to the work in person which is very different to seeing the work online. Sadly this will always be limited. It’s a bit like seeing a film at the cinema as apposed to watching it on your TV, or if you are silly, on your phone!
Books are great of course, but the images will always be ‘copies’ and too small to appreciate in the same way. For me at least, a nice show is the ultimate goal as a Fine Art Photographer.
Another, World In Itself.
My Summer Project, The World In Itself, continues with a marvelous shot made this week with the help of some moonlight. Work like this would be so much easier with a few people to help, but there in lies a conundrum. Do I risk sharing my technique (not that its anything too top secret), or do I just dig in. It took five hours from arriving at my destination to getting the final shot in a single frame. Those rocks are bigger than they look…
Circles and Full Circles. .
My latest, The World In Itself, series continues. Above is an idea I have had for a long time. Although pretty much as I had imagined, this one turned out better than I had anticipated proving once that the most simple images tend to have the most impact, (at least for me they do).
The journey continues.
Pre Selection Rejection
Back in the days of film and print you could drop your portfolio off and pick it up later. In 90’s London this was commonplace, be it a gallery, an Ad Agency, or magazine. Leaving a business card at the back of the ‘book’ would let you know if someone had looked at it, providing of course it was gone! Then the hope was that your work had left an impression and perhaps you would get a call. There was never an occasion where my card had not taken. Whether or not the phone rang, there was always a sense of respect knowing someone had taken the time to look at your work.
Last week I got an email with the title, ‘Pre Selection Rejection, and it wasn’t from a dating website. Without going into too much detail, It did give the impression that had I left a portfolio there, the business card would not have been taken. The fact that there is a ‘pre selection’ is a new one on me, but at least they let me know, unlike the 99 percent who just don’t bother.
Sadly I feel the respect there once was has fallen by the wayside and we cannot be bothered to even look anymore, let alone see.
The World in its self.
The World in its Self, part II
Since AI popped up its ugly fake head I have been working on images that at first glance may look like I have been dabbling in the artificial, but in I have been making images that are all done ‘in camera’. It started with Penumbra and has continued as I find more ways to mess with the digital worlds mind, or at least that’s what I think as a human. Perhaps this is a vain attempt to show off some ‘old fashioned’ photography skills, or perhaps I just cannot bring myself to do an empty landscape..
I have often said it doesn’t matter how you get there, just get there. Its a mantra I still go by. But the fact remains, I want to be the sole creator of my work, and maybe work a little hard to produce something. If a photography project is easy, then perhaps the project itself may be lacking. If we are not challenged, then really, what is the purpose? Without challenge, there is no fulfillment.
“Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe..the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me. “
Immanuel Kant
The world in itself.
The perfect representation of an image and other things.
3 Halo Mirage, 2026
When out photographing I always have in my head what the image will look like. Sometimes I get it exactly like I was thinking (see above), sometimes its close but not quite, and sometimes its spot on, but still looks awful. I used to work the same way when I was printing black and white in my smelly London Darkroom in the 90’s. I would look at the landscape and then visualize how it would look as a black and white print. But not just a print, a framed print on a wall somewhere. I’m still not sure why I had to frame it and place it in some loft apartment, or a fancy room, it was just how my mind worked. Decades later, I still think how an image might look, framed in my house, or someone else’s house for that matter.
For me, the framed print is still the end game. Unlike a book with sequencing, text, and basically copies of the original images, the print is, and should be, the perfect representation of an image. Lets hope it lasts…
Convergence…
Apex 3.
Often with my work a project can lay dormant, usually its because there isn’t enough for a series, or in this instance I really wasn’t sure how I felt about the work. When I started the Penumbra project, I would often do a circle or a triangle as well as the ‘doorway’. These ‘other’ images lay dormant for a few reasons, one being that I had seen similar things being done and also because I really wasn’t sure.. Anyways, recently I jumped in and after a little editing put together a series, Apex, and Halo. Eventually the Convergence of the images will come together in one collection.
What shall we talk about..
Back in the early 2020’s during flu season (covid), many actors, unable to work, took to writing biographies, some very thin with big letters, others a little thicker. At the same time many people calling themselves landscape photographers took to youtube and began a Vlog, a word I still cannot bring myself to say out loud. What I found most odd is that back in those dark days of shut-ins and parliament-parties, rather than isolating oneself in the open air, as a landscape photographer should, people shut themselves away and began to waffle on about wide angle lenses and megapixels. Without blowing my own trumpet, I spent two years whizzing around the desert making photographs. In that time I did not see a single person, and therefore assumed they were all making Vlogs. Fast forward to 2026 and it comes as no surprise that most of the Vloggers are gone, but its not because they are out making photographs, its because they have ran out of things to say. Even the one or two good ones (or less), have taken to talking about equipment while trying to keep their sponsors happy, which will be followed by the inevitable; “ I’m giving up this channel, and lost the will to live..”
Like most things online, the vlogger, like the blogger, will vanish, and what a glorious day that will be..